| On Wisdom
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All poems: copyright by
Nicholas Gordon
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1. Reason is the editor of wisdom, examining,
affirming, and sustaining its principles and practices.
2. One may affirm what is unreasonable, but only
by an act of will, whereas to affirm what is reasonable comes naturally.
This is because the principles of reason, like those of mathematics, are
both intuitive and well tested by experience over time.
3. Wisdom, to be wisdom, cannot be coerced or
received passively, but must be affirmed by one's own reason, tested against
one's own experience and heart.
4. Unaided reason, however, cannot be trusted.
Its principles are sound, but its application is problematic, since reason
is often the tool of self-interest, or based on faulty observation, or swayed
by desire. Thus reason must always be tested against continued observation,
experience, intuition, feeling, and the opinions of others over
time.
5. Truth lies in shadow, to be discerned only
by sunlight as it travels across the sky, shining from a variety of
angles.
6. Wisdom, therefore, even if affirmed by reason
quickly, is acquired slowly, over a lifetime of careful observation, thought,
conversation, and feeling.
7. Because first questions, such as the origin
and nature of being, or the relation of time to eternity, are beyond the
scope of reason, they are also beyond the scope of wisdom, which can function
without reference to them. That is why the wisdom of various philosophies
and religions can be so similar while their theologies and metaphysics are
so different.
Next: The Principles
of Wisdom: Harmony
Previous: The Principles of Wisdom:
Imagination
On Wisdom: Table
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